Strawberry Milkshakes and Sincerity
by ekc293
Summary: "The sight he was confronted with knocked him breathless." Implied Caskett, future-fic. Straight up fluff. Ignore the title... I'd like to think it's better than that. Hopefully not too OOC.


First of all, worst title ever? I apologize. I'm not thinking straight. Anyway, this is straight up fluff. I hope it makes sense.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Castle. That is all.

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><p>Alexis Castle was trying her hardest to be positive.<p>

Two weeks before when she had approached her father with an acceptance letter to go to Stanford a semester early, she had been ecstatic. Castle had not been nearly as excited, but since he knew this was what she wanted to do, he supported her whole-heartedly. They flew out to California for a weekend trip to visit Stanford (so Alexis could explore the campus and Castle could see where his daughter was going to be for the next four years), talked to the dean and even the president of the school, and Alexis was even more excited. On the flight home, she had complained that her mouth hurt a little. Castle, being the ever so attentive father, scheduled her a dentist appointment at the earliest convenience.

The next day, Alexis went to the dentist and she had told her that she needed to get her wisdom teeth out. She said they weren't impacted, so there was no rush to get them out, she'd just have to deal with a little bit of unpredictable pain.

Alexis had been prepared to accept that, when her father immediately began insisting that if she was leaving for college in a month, she was going to have them out before she steps on that plane to take her away. She knew she didn't have a shot of fighting him.

Which is how she currently found herself sitting on the couch in the living room, holding an icepack up to her face with an old black-and-white movie flashing across the screen. She had gotten her teeth taken out the day before.

The first day truly hadn't been bad. She hadn't bled much and her dad had taken time off from the precinct to be with her the entire time. It also might not have been bad because her entire face from her cheekbones down had been numb, and the painkillers helped keep her asleep for most of the day.

However, today she had decided against taking the stronger painkillers and stuck with the less powerful Ibuprofen that was always stocked in the medicine cabinet. The pain in her jaw had minimized from a throbbing pain to a constant ache.

She wasn't sure which was worse.

About half an hour before, Castle had gotten a call from Gina that he was needed immediately at Black Pawn to go over some of the things for his latest book. He asked her why they couldn't have this conversation over the phone, and she yelled at him and told him his bosses wanted to see him in person. He tried to tell her that he couldn't leave Alexis right now, but Gina just wouldn't stop yelling at him about how immature he was being. Alexis, already irritable because of the pain, grabbed his phone, ended the call, and told him to just go. She'd be fine for a couple of hours. Her dad looked torn, clearly not wanting to leave Alexis yet having to go do his job. Alexis gave him a small smile (the largest she could manage with her swollen cheeks) and assured him again that she would be fine. He left quickly after that, giving her a new icepack and her hand a tight squeeze, telling her to call if she needed anything at all, and he shouldn't be gone longer than a few hours.

Alexis' attention flickered back to the screen. Maybe she should just try to get some more sleep. That way she wouldn't have to deal with this constant pain in her jaw. She was sure the oral surgeon had been lying when he said that she would feel better in a week. She wasn't even doing anything that required her jaw yet her entire mouth hurt. She would've moaned at the pain if the sound wouldn't have moved her jaw.

She settled for a mental sigh instead.

She heard a knock at the door, but before she could get up to see who it was, she heard the door open.

There was a brief moment of panic. Who had just let themselves into her house? There was no way she could defend herself if they came near her. What if…

"Alexis?" she heard a voice tentatively call.

Alexis tried to speak, but the inside of her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. Her cheeks were so swollen that they puffed out into the space between her teeth when she tried to talk.

Before she could even think of another way to let her mysterious visitor know where she was, a head peaked out around the wall of the living room.

"Oh, there you are," Detective Beckett said, looking slightly bashful. She moved around to the edge of the couch, sitting opposite of Alexis. Alexis looked at her in confusion.

Kate knew that look, "You're dad called me in a near panic, saying that he was being forced to go to this meeting and didn't want you to be alone. I promised I'd come see you, although I told him you were strong and you were going to be alright."

Alexis was touched, but she still had questions. "Aren't you working today?" she mumbled, still holding the icepack up to her face.

It took Kate only moments to register what she said. "I was. We just closed up a case before your dad called. I took the rest of the day off and left all the paperwork to Ryan and Esposito." Kate finished off her answer with a wink.

A smile lit up Alexis' eyes. She then noticed the bag that Kate had set down by her feet and the cup sitting on the coffee table in front of them. She gave Kate a questioning look and Kate smiled in return.

"It's been a long time since I had to get my wisdom teeth out, but I know that one of the worst parts was not being able to eat solid food. Your mouth gets tired of not having anything to chew on."

Kate reached down into her bag and started to pull some stuff out of it.

"You may very well have all of this stuff," Kate started, "I'm sure your dad had tried to stock this house with everything that doesn't require chewing, but I thought I'd bring it just in case."

In all truthfulness, Alexis hadn't eaten much of anything in the past two days. Her dad had been trying to make her healthy lunches and dinners that didn't require chewing, but they were still impractical seeing that she couldn't open her mouth very far. He had tried so hard, so she had taken a few bites, but it always ended up being quite painful.

She looked at the things Kate pulled out and put on the coffee table with ravenous eyes.

"… I brought you some pudding, chocolate and vanilla because I wasn't sure what you would like, some applesauce…" she punctuated each item on her list by placing it on the table. She pulled out a can of tuna, "If you mash tuna up really well and swallow it in little bites, it's a nice change of texture. And the protein helps." Kate looked up. "Scrambled eggs, after they cool down a little of course, go down easy." Kate finally lifted the cup from the table, "And a large strawberry milkshake from Remy's. Your dad told me strawberry was your favorite."

Alexis could've cried. "You didn't have to.."

Kate cut her off with another smile, "I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to…" she trailed off and looked at Alexis. They looked at each other, Kate still smiling and Alexis extremely touched. The detective was so unlike any of the other women in her father's life. She seemed to genuinely care about Alexis, and for the first time in a long time, her father was completely willing to share Alexis with her. He didn't try to protect her from getting too attached to the woman who had so clearly captured his heart. He wanted Alexis to love her just as much as he did.

The moment was ruined when Alexis' stomach growled.

Alexis looked away embarrassed, while Kate's smile just grew. She looked away and dramatically motioned towards the table, "So… anything strike your fancy?"

Alexis smiled again, knowing that she was acting this way just to distract her from the pain. And she completely appreciated it. Alexis pondered for a moment, over-exaggerating her thinking face and pointed decidedly towards the milkshake Kate was still holding in her hand.

"An excellent choice," Kate said standing up, "give me a second and I'll grab you a spoon to eat it."

Kate disappeared into the Kitchen again and Alexis grabbed her phone and sent her dad a quick text:

"Hey dad, thanks for sending Detective Beckett over."

His response was almost immediate.

"… I didn't?"

Alexis rolled her eyes and responded:

"She told me you did? Don't lie to me."

A moment passed and her phone chimed.

"Pumpkin… I didn't send her over. I just told her and said… This meeting is going longer than expected and Gina's glaring at me ): . I'll thank her when I get home."

Alexis was looking at her phone, puzzled when Kate walked back in, her milkshake in a bowl and a spoon in it. Any thought of questions immediately left her mind as she reached hungrily for the bowl.

She could've moaned when the first scoop of milkshake slid down her throat. She actually thinks she might have.

She nearly finished the entire bowl. When she was finished Kate took the bowl back from her and put it on the coffee table in front of her.

"Thank you," Alexis said, genuinely grateful.

It seemed like the smile never left Kate's face, "No problem."

They shared another look when Alexis looked up at the TV screen. The movie had ended, and the credits were rolling. Alexis turn back to Kate.

"Are you staying?"

Kate responded, "Unless you want me to go."

Alexis shook her head, the pressure in her jaw protesting slightly, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Sure," Kate said, "go ahead and pick. I'll go get you some more ice."

By the time Kate returned from the kitchen with fresh ice and a glass of water, Alexis was already settled onto the couch, the opening scene of the movie playing. Kate handed Alexis the ice, and Alexis responded by putting the icepack up to her cheeks and patting the spot next to her, indicating that Kate should sit down. Kate did, and Alexis snuggled up into her side. Kate put her arm around her shoulders.

"Kate?"

"Mhm?"

"Thank you for being here."

Kate leaned down and kissed the top of Alexis' head, "Anytime."

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><p>Three hours later the front door of the loft creaked open. Rick was mentally exhausted and physically drained from the torturous meetings he had been subjected to that afternoon. He kicked off his shoes by the front door, dropped his briefcase on the Kitchen counter and started to head towards the living room where he had left his daughter.<p>

The sight he was confronted with knocked him breathless.

Since it was getting late, the loft was bathed in the glow of the setting sun seeping through the windows. The TV screen had long since turned blue and there was an empty bowl and two glasses of water on the coffee table. But that wasn't what made his heart constrict. It was the beautiful sight lying on his couch.

Sometime during the movie, Alexis must have fallen asleep. Kate, trying to make her as comfortable as possible, had laid her down so that her head was lying in her lap, the icepack still pressed to her cheek. Kate's head was resting on her own shoulder and she had a hand lying in Alexis' shiny hair. Both were sleeping, both looked incredibly comfortable.

Rick couldn't help himself when he took out his phone and snapped a quick picture. Here were two of the most important women in his life, he couldn't not capture that.

The sound of his camera shutter was enough to rouse Kate from her slumber. She looked around, slightly confused, until she looked down and saw Alexis lying in her lap. Kate smiled. Rick's heart melted again.

Kate looked over and saw Rick and gave him another small smile.

"Hey," she said, her voice clouded by sleep, "when did you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago," he whispered, his voice clouded with emotion, "walked into the living room to see two of my favorite girls together just took my breath away for a moment."

Kate rolled her eyes, but the action was negated by the pink that warmed her cheeks.

"Thank you," he said earnestly, "for coming over. Even though I didn't ask you to…"

By the tone of his voice, she knew she had been caught. He hadn't asked her to come over. Castle had merely sent her one text (probably to get out some frustration) that simply said, "I HATE GINA. She has the worst timing." Knowing why he wasn't coming into the precinct that week, Kate had pieced two and two together and called out of work, went to the store, and came to be with Alexis.

Kate avoided his eyes, the blush on her cheeks spreading when she felt a hand on her chin. Castle had moved closer and tilted her face up so she could see how much it meant to him.

"I'm serious," he murmured sincerely, "Thank you. There's no one else I would rather have with her when I'm not here."

Kate smiled at him. Instead of responding however, she carefully shifted Alexis a little farther down the couch, creating a space between herself and the arm of the couch. She grabbed Rick's hand and pulled him down to sit in the new spot. Rick snuggled in immediately. He put his arm around Kate's shoulder and held the hand that wasn't playing with his daughter's hair. She sighed and put her head on his shoulder, her eyes sliding shut.

And as Rick let his body succumb to exhaustion, he was struck by how quickly he could get used to this.

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><p>I don't know if I've ever written so heavily from experience before. Hahaha. I got my Wisdom Teeth taken out on Tuesday. Alexis' whole experience? It's basically me. hahahaha, except I had to call my dad to bring me a milkshake... and I've basically been fending for myself. So. Much. Achy-ness.<p>

Anyway, you know what would make me feel better? Reviews (I'm petty). (:  
><strong>Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think!<strong>


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